Raymond Davis

What we see is the portrait of a semi-autonomous agency, poorly led and allowed unjustifiable independence by an absentee president -- an agency that has done grave damage to the security and well-being of the United States.

Most Pakistani-Americans, including myself, are relieved that bin Laden is no longer able to plan acts of terrorism. However, what is missing from this narrative is the method used by the CIA to glean the information about his whereabouts.

Let's forget about who is an "agent" of who. Let's not allow every conversation after an incident to devolve into random whodunit speculation. Let's stop trying to focus on who killed how many people and why. That's not in our control.

With all the hullabaloo surrounding bin Laden's execution, let's not lose sight of the fact that while it is undoubtedly a SOCOM success story, it is also a stunning seven-year-fumble by U.S. intelligence and foreign policy.

Sovereign nations cannot have feelings as people do -- but there are times when they would blush if they could. The ascent of the administration to the perfection of embarrassment was gradual, and its stages deserve to be remembered.

History is being reshaped in such a way that previously major events may all be dwarfed by this new moment. Yet inside the Washington echo chamber, in which it can only hear itself talking, thoughts about such developments dawn slowly.

Raymond Davis, charged with killing two men in Pakistan, has been confirmed by the U.S. government to be an officer of the CIA. Davis the military contractor is in a weaker position than Davis the officer of the CIA.